Cuban defector Angelo Santana delivers stunning KO in TV debut

HALLANDALE BEACH — — Angelo Santana admitted he had a slight case of stage fright in the early moments of his first televised fight Friday night, but it didn't take long before the Cuban defector showed the Showtime audience that he was ready for a title shot.

In a battle of young, undefeated lightweights, Santana, a powerfully built southpaw, knocked out the taller Juan Garcia with a crushing left at 1:41 of the fifth round that left the rain-soaked crowd at Gulfstream Park gasping and Garcia's girlfriend crying from her ringside seat.

"When the fight started I was nervous because I needed a few minutes to compose myself,'' Santana said. "But I had my people here. … This performance says it all. I proved that I'm ready.''

Santana, 24, who defected from Cuba five years ago to reunite with his girlfriend in Miami, improved to 14-0 with 11 knockouts, while a bloodied Garcia of Holland, Mich., fell to 13-1.

Santana was the star attraction of the five-card event promoted by Don King, and afterward, Showtime executive Gordon Hall said Santana, "is a star.''

The other televised fight was also entertaining as Hialeah's Joey 'Twinkle Fingers' Hernandez earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over cagey veteran James Winchester.

The welterweight bout featured point deductions, head-butts and low blows. But Hernandez, 28, landed 170 punches to 114 for Winchester 34, of Greensboro, N.C., including 47 more powerful blows.

Hernandez had his hometown fans chanting, "Joey, Joey,'' throughout the fight, particularly when he registered the only knockdown in the fourth round with consecutive lefts.

"He stepped on my foot,'' said Winchester, who dropped to 15-6. "It's cool. It's his crowd but his crowd now respects me.''

Hernandez improved to 23-1-1 and was happy to survive a wild 10th round that had both tired fighters flailing away in a knockout attempt.

"I would've liked to throw more combinations but he often leads with his head so I was being mindful of being head-butted,'' Hernandez said. "I did what I had to do. Now, it's time to go on to bigger things.''

After an evenly fought first round, Santana took command of the fight in the second round when he dropped Garcia with a sudden straight left. Another left opened up a gash near Garcia's right eye in the fourth.

Midway into the fifth, Santana delivered a right-left combination for knockdown No. 2. A lurching Garcia got up before the 10-count, but Santana went in for the kill by the ropes and sent his opponent to sleep with a ferocious left to the head. Referee Frank Gentile didn't bother to count before stopping the fight at 1:41.

"He was a strong opponent but I wanted to prove I could knock anybody out," Santana said. "I was waiting for him to gain some confidence because he's taller. Once he came in, I was able to unload with my left."

In the undercard, a couple of childhood friends from Albany, N.Y., who train in Deerfield Beach with trainer Stacy McKinley registered easy victories. Promising heavyweight Trevor Bryan, 23, unleashed a highlight right that instantly knocked out Hassan Lee at 1:45 of the third round.

In the rain-delayed third bout, McKinley's housemate Amir Imam, 22, stopped Tony Walker at 2:59 of the second round with a barrage of combinations that conjured up images of Sugar Ray Leonard.